Grant Gustin knows a thing or two about shutting down trolls. After a leaked photo of the new Flash costume from season 5 left fans of the superhero series divided, the 28-year-old CW star officially unveiled the costume on social media this Friday.

While teasing the brand new look, however, Gustin also seized the opportunity to pack a sarcastic punch against all the haters who recently fuelled a snowball of controversy. The debate was mostly over the latest Flash suit — which many fans found appalling — and also edging on the lines of body-shaming as trolls called out Gustin over his physique in the picture.

Taking a sly jab at all the self-proclaimed critics, though, Gustin shared: "Was given the “ok” to give you guys a little bonus sneak peek. I took this shot late last night during our night shoot. I was clearly feeling myself. I truly love this suit." Adding a bit of arm-flexing for good measure, in the new photo, the Flash actor appeared to be donning the season five suit, a glimpse of which was teased by him just a few hours back.

"First OFFICIAL look at Barry’s new threads for season 5," Gustin had captioned the official poster tease for 'The Flash', which is all set to return with all new episodes on October 9 on The CW.

The official poster release comes on the heels of a recent backlash that ultimately saw the DC star taking to social media to defend his new look as well as to fire back at the trolls skinny-shaming the actor.

“So here’s the thing about this bulls**t photo leak. It’s a cool suit. That’s a terrible photo that I was unaware was being taken, much less being posted. Some things need work and they will be worked on. We’ll get there," he wrote.

"As far as the body shaming. That’s what p****s me off. Not even just for my sake. I’ve had 20+ years of kids and adults telling me or my parents I was too thin. I've had my own journey of accepting it."

Addressing the criticism and the haters, however, Gustin even added a word of encouragement for his fans and for those who have found themselves at the receiving end of judgement.

"I’m happy with my body and who I am and other kids who are built like me and thinner than me should be able to feel the same way," he wrote. "Not only that, but they should be able to feel like THEY could be a superhero on tv or film or whatever it may be someday."

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MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. We are one of the world’s fastest growing
media-tech companies with hubs around the world. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of
reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader.